The Houston Texans created a path to the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 championship. Could they also be responsible for road blocking a sequel?

Injuries, ineffectiveness and a spiral the organization could not shake conspired to cost Gary Kubiak his job as Texans’ coach in 2013. He landed in Baltimore as an assistant and became John Elway’s handpicked leader to elevate the Broncos’ playoff success. That Kubiak brought along many of his Houston coaches, namely defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and defensive line coach Bill Kollar, proved pivotal in reshaping the Broncos’ image of finesse into one of barbed wire and bare knuckles.

The Lombardi Trophy resides in Denver because of toughness, defense and just enough timely plays on offense.

Regardless if Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan depart in free agency, the Broncos will boast a strong defense next season. But they won’t repeat as champions without better quarterback play. Broncos quarterbacks threw 23 interceptions last season, worst in the league. They ranked 28th with 19 touchdown passes. The offense needs to provide a greater margin for error, not just a water break for the Orange Rush.

It starts with keeping Brock Osweiler. Project Osweiler’s statistics of this past season over a full season and he throws 23 touchdown passes with 13 interceptions. And the running game percolated with his arrival under center. Osweiler represents the smoothest transition in life after Peyton Manning. He knows the system, has earned the respect of teammates with his leadership and work ethic and could help rescue slumping receiver Demaryius Thomas.

The Broncos have made Osweiler a competitive offer. It’s believed to be more than Nick Foles’ $12.27 million per season. But how far are the Broncos willing to go for a player who has made seven starts in four seasons and was benched for a 39-year-old Manning?

About those Texans. Houston is dangerous to the Broncos’ blueprint. As Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson noted in a recent column, the Texans introduced mystery to the NFL combine. Nobody is quite sure how they are going to address their quarterback situation, other than they must improve over Brian Hoyer. They own the 22nd pick in the NFL draft. Owner Bob McNair declared last month his preference for the team addressing the issue in the draft. But with a playoff club, can the Texans afford to roll the dice and show patience with Christian Hackenberg (a huge risk with his heavy feet and accuracy issues), Paxton Lynch or Connor Cook?

Osweiler fits in Houston. And this is where it becomes greasy for the Broncos. What if Houston believes, in a quarterback-starved market, Osweiler is worth $50 million over three years? Then what? The Broncos lose their exclusive negotiating window Monday afternoon. It takes only one team to establish Osweiler’s value. Osweiler has flaws, of course. He holds on to the ball too long and needs to improve his footwork to help maintain a more consistent arm slot. But the potential exists.

If Osweiler’s price becomes too high, the Broncos will exhaust all avenues in seeking a replacement. And there’s few teams that would be trusted more to figure it out than the Broncos with Elway and Kubiak. Engaging San Francisco in trade talks for Colin Kaepernick, whom the Broncos hosted before the 2011 draft along with Russell Wilson, seems reasonable. As does drafting a quarterback and signing a placeholder veteran such as T.J. Yates. Again, they won with below-average quarterback play last season.

These are hypotheticals. The Broncos want Osweiler back. But under Elway’s guidance, they wisely never make moves at any cost.

Houston, once the solution, could become the Broncos’ biggest problem this offseason.

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.

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